Adjustable garment hanger



Jan. 10, 1950 .1. 1.. WHITSEL 2,494,272

' ADJUSTABLE GARMENT HANGER Filed June 9, 1948 lNVENTOA ATTORNEY JAMES L. mv/rsa margin of the block I0, said struts being fixed or worked to engage through and slide freely within the channel throats of the arms I2 and to freely and telescopically reciprocate relative to each other in maintained alignment as they are shifted bodily in maintained parallelism with, toward and away from the block I lower margin. The struts I4 and I5 may be of metal directly secured, as by welding or brazing, to the associated members I3, or said latter members may be provided with integral projecting studs or sleeves I 6 to which appropriate ends of said struts are secured in any suitable or desired manner. Similar to and paralleling the lengthvariable unit comprised from the struts I4 and I5, a second such unit constituted from telescopically reciprocable complementary struts I! and I8, identical with the struts Id and I5 save as to length, is fixed at its opposite ends to and bridges in spaced parallel relation with the unit I4I5 between the outer, curved ends of the members I3. As shown in Figure 3, the struts I1 and I8, or the like struts I6 and I5, may be coaxial elements circular in cross section, in Which case one of the struts is tubular ina size to receive and slidably accommodate a complementary strut which may be either cylindrical or tubular. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 4, the aligned strut elements may be laterally arched in a coacting conformation of hollow, channel-shaped, larger element and relatively smaller inner element receivable therein.

The organization thus far described completes a size-variable garment hanger wherein the members I3 may be manually extended from or retracted within their mounting arms I2 to adjust the vertical depth and horizontal width of the assembly, the coaxial elements of the telescopic strut units sliding relative to each other for variation in the unit lengths proportioned to the extension or retraction of the members I3. However, when friction of the engaged elements alone is relied upon to maintain the organized assembly and to retain an adjusted relationship of the assembly elements, the practicality of the device is less than adequate since the influence of gravity and the weight of supported garments may readily alter any adjustment made and may in fact operate to wholly withdraw the members l3 from the arms I2 with consequent disintegration of the unit. Further, with the elements of the organization only irictionally interengaged for selective manual adjustment, it is difiicult to move the members I3 correspondingly and uniformly relative to their slide bearing engagement with the arms 12 without undesirable misalignments and binding of the slidable associations.

Completing the organization to facilitate sizevariation of the unit and to hold the relativelymovable elements in any position of their adjustment, a feed-screw I9 is disposed inwardly adjacent and to parallel the straight portion of each arm !2 with its upper and inner, unthreaded shank rotatably received in a bore formed for such purpose within and in intersecting relation with the lower margin of the block I0, said screw having a length approximating that of the adjacent arm I2. A slot 20 opens through the thickness of the block II! perpendicular to the axis of each screw I9 so that the shank of each feed screw traverses one of the slots 20, and a thumbnut 2| is accommodated in each slot 20 in fixed relation with the screw l 9 shank portion traversing the slot and serves to hold the associated screw against axial displacement in either direction relative to the block IIl while providing convenient means for the selective manual rotation of said screw. At their threaded ends remote from the block III, the screws I9 engage through internally-threaded bores formed coaxially with the screws through the ends of the struts I 4 and I5 secured to their respective members I3, so that rotation of said screws through the agency of the nuts 2| operates, according to the thread pitch and direction of screw rotation, to move the members I3 longitudinally relative to their mountings in the arms I2. Obviously, it is convenient to oppositely pitch the threads of the separate screws I 9 so that a natural simultaneous rotation thereof in opposite directions will be productive of like shifting effect on the movable elements of the assembly, and it is further apparent that adjustment of the movable elements is accomplished through simultaneous rotation of both screws I9 to obviate binding distortion of the movable elements. When and as the screws I9 are actuated to retract the members :3 within the arms I2, the strut units correspondingly shorten in length as the complementary elements thereof telescope relative to each other, and as said screws are actuated to extend the members I3 from the arms I2, the strut units correspondingly lengthen through axial outward displacement of their complementary elements; said strut units thus automatically reacting to the shifting of the members l3 without impairment of their character or function.

Since many changes, variations, and modifications in the specific form, construction, and. arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of my invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

l. A garment hanger comprising a suitablyshaped head block formed with upwardly-converging, oppositely-concaved, side margins, h0llow, longitudinally-slotted arms end-secured to said block side margins to diverge as straight lengths outwardly and downwardly therefrom with their slots in opposition, an extension mem ber slidably accommodated within and for reciprocation longitudinally of each said arm, telescopic, length-variable strut units end-fixed adjacent the ends of and to bridge in spaced, parallel relation between said members with the ends of the inner said unit slidably engaging through the arm slots, and means operatively engaging between said block and ends of the inner strut unit selectively actuatable to position and adjust said members and struts relative to said arms and block.

2. A garment hanger comprising a suitablyshaped head block formed with upwardly-converging, oppositely-concaved, side margins,.hollow, longitudinally-slotted arms end-secured to said block side margins to diverge as straight lengths outwardly and downwardly therefrom with their slots in opposition, an extension mem-- ber slidably accommodated within and forreciprocation longitudinally of each said arm, telescopic, length-variable strut units end-fixed adja-' cent the ends of and to bridge in spaced; par allel relation between said members with the ends of the inner said unit slidably engaging through the arm slots, feed screws rotatablyand'non=re ciprocably mounted in said block inwardly adjacent and to parallel said arms in threaded outer end engagement through member-attached ends of said inner strut unit, and manually-actuatable means for the selective rotation of said screws.

3. In a garment hanger having a head block and a pair of like hollow arms end-secured thereto to diverge as straight lengths outwardly and downwardly therefrom in a common plane, opposed slots longitudinally intersecting adjacent inner walls of said arms, an extension member slidably accommodated within and for reciprocation longitudinally of each said arm, telescopic,

length-variable strut units end-fixed adjacent the ends of and to bridge in spaced, parallel relation between said members with the ends of the inner.

said unit slidably engaging through said slots, and means operatively engaging between said block and ends of the inner strut unit selectively actuatable to position and adjust said members and struts relative to said arms and block.

4. In a garment hanger having a head block and a pair of like hollow arms end-secured thereto to diverge as straight lengths outwardly and downwardly therefrom in a common plane, opposed slots longitudinally intersecting adjacent inner walls of said arms, an extension member slidably accommodated within and for reciprocation longitudinally of each said arm, telescopic, lengthvariable strut units end-fixed adjacent the ends of and to bridge in spaced, parallel relation between said members with the ends of the inner said unit slidably engaging through the arm slots, feed screws rotatably and non-reciprocably mounted in said block inwardly adjacent and to parallel said arms in threaded outer end engagement through member-attached ends of said inner strut unit, and manually-actuatable means for the selective rotation of said screws.

5. In a garment hanger having a head block, a pair of like hollow arms end-secured to said block to diverge as straight lengths outwardly and downwardly therefrom in a common plane, opposed slots longitudinally intersecting adjacent inner walls of said arms, an extension member slidably accommodated within and for reciprocation longitudinally of each said arm, and telescopic, length-variable strut units end-fixed adjacent the ends of and to bridge in spaced, parallel relation between said members with the ends of the inner said unit slidably engaging through the arm slots, means manually and selectively actuatable to position, extend, and retract said members and struts relative to said arms and block, said means comprising a feed screw end-mounted for rotation in said block and projecting therefrom in inwardly-adjacent, spaced parallelism with each said arm to underlie the arm slot, a slot opening through said block perpendicular to each screw mounted end and traversed thereby, a thumb-nut fixed to each screw mounted end within the slot traversed thereby coactable with the associated slot margins to limit axial displacement of its screw, and threaded holes through outer end portions of the inner strut unit aligned with and cooperatively engaging the ends of said screws remote from said block.

JAMES L. WI-I'ITSEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

